Starting Over
by BlueWallTack
Summary: AU Fic. After being acquitted of the murder of his wife's lover, Lee tries to put his life back together and take care of his daughter Clementine. Carley, after disappearing for two years, comes back to try and help her old friend. Together they help each other heal from their pasts and start over in the hopes of having a brighter future. CarLee, Kenjaa and other characters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This story has been circling my head a lot so I decided to finally write it down! I try to write as much as possible but I also want to continue on two other stories that I've been working on that you should see soon, but for now I'm going to try an update this one as soon as I can. Don't forget to hit the review button and tell me what you think!**

**Chapter 1**

Lee sat in the driver's seat of the silver Honda as he checked his watch for the third time. It was 2:59 and as the small hand on the watch turned to 3:00, he stepped out of the car and stood on the sidewalk in front of the brick school, leaning against the car. A few minutes later he heard the bell ring from inside the school and his eyes scanned through the crowd of students filtering out of the school in different directions, searching for one person. Soon he saw her, with her short curly black hair, a school uniform consisting of red polo shirt, navy blue skirt, stockings and black Mary Jane's and her pink backpack slung over her shoulder. Clementine quickly spotted her father and started running towards him. Lee smiled, bending down and opening his arms as the little girl ran into them.

"Daddy!"

"Hey girl! How was school?" Lee asked as he pulled away to look at her face.

"Good. I got a gold star on my homework and on Friday we have a trip to the aquarium!" She replied enthusiastically as Lee opened the car door for her and she slipped in, strapping herself into the backseat on the right. Lee looked up and noticed Kenny across the street with Duck and waved to them before getting back behind the wheel.

"That's wonderful sweet pea. I'll sign you permission slip when we get home." Lee praised Clem as he pulled away from the school and drove home while listening to Clementine talk about her day. As they pulled into they're driveway, Lee let out a laugh under his breath as he noticed that Kenny's dark blue truck was already parked in the fisherman's driveway and he was already helping Duck get out. As Lee parked he honked his horn twice to get his friends attention.

"I'll never get how you always beat me home." Lee joked while walking over to Kenny and Duck after helping Clementine out of the car.

"Just got a better sense of navigation. Comes with the territory of being a fisherman." Kenny gloated before his look turned concerned.

"You okay today man? I thought you were gonna let us pick up Clem. You know it's no trouble." He said softly so the kids wouldn't hear.

"It's okay Kenny, I just needed to get out today, God knows I needed it. I just needed some time after..." Kenny didn't need to hear the rest to know what he was talking about.

"Okay man. Just remember we're always here if you need anything. I don't know how you're feeling right now but I know it must be hard."

"Thanks Ken. I appreciate everything thin you guys have done. I'd don't know what I'd do without you."

"Don't mention it. You'd do the same for any one of us." And with that, Kenny led Duck into the house as Lee walked back across the street with Clementine and inside their own house to continue with the rest of their day.

* * *

The day had died hours ago when the sun left to return tomorrow and the moon had taken its place. It was late in the night and most people were fast asleep in their beds, except for Lee. He sat at the table in the dining room with the light on, pouring through the mail that had piled up over the last few months. As he opened more mail, he took note of the bills that were due while budgeting and taking the amount needed to pay each bill out of what he had in his savings. He dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair and ran his hands over his face, growing frustrated with the number on his notepad that kept getting smaller and smaller every time he opened another envelope. He was smart enough to have his house fully paid off as soon as he could and to have emergency savings in the first place, but he knew that their savings would not last them long and he hoped that it would at least last long enough for him to find a new job.

_"All in one year. One stupid fucking year."_

He stood up from his chair,, turned off the dining room light and walked to the living room closet, deciding to try and sort out the bills after a good night's sleep. He took out a red pillow and blanket and threw them on the couch before stripping down to his boxers, setting his alarm on the side table, curling up on the couch under the blanket and drifting off to sleep.

But he found no peace in his dreams.

* * *

Carley leaned forward into the taxi window and gave the driver a 20$ bill, telling him to keep the change. As she stepped back away from the cab she thanked the driver one last time before watching him pull away from the curb and drive down the street out of sight. She took a deep breath as she turned around and looked up at the tall building in front of her. The building was in the shape of a giant square, with windows covering most of it, making it look as if it was made of glass. In front of her, the words "Drayton Tower" were spelled on top of a stone slab the stuck out on top of the front door like an awning.

"I hope she's still around." she mumbled to herself as she walked up the stairs and into the building, dragging her rolling suitcase behind her. She entered into the lobby and headed straight for the elevator, not wanting to waste any more time than she had already. As she entered the elevator, hit the 9th floor button and watched as the doors closed and the elevator started to rise, doubts began to plague her mind again.

_"Oh god she might not even want to see me. I wouldn't blame her anyway..." _

Her worries continued to fill her mind as the elevator ascended higher and higher. Soon, she was so caught up in her own thoughts that she jumped when the familiar _ding_ went sounded and the elevator doors opened onto the 9th floor. Clutching her suitcase tighter, Carley exited and walked exactly four doors to the left and turning to the apartment door on the right, not bothering to even look at the apartment numbers. She stared down at the ground, her hands trembling and her knees shaking.

_"Come on girl, you can do this."_ Carley took two deep breathes before slowly lifting her still shaky hand up into a fist and held her hand next to the door, about to knock on it. Her arm froze in that position and she took two more deep breathes before dragging her fist down against the door and knocking four times. She stood stiff as a board as she waited for some sign of life from behind the door. After a minute of silence, she knocked again, this time hearing what sounded like footsteps getting closer and closer. The door swung open and Carley came face to face with a woman only slightly older than Carley, dressed down in a hoodie and sweatpants with her dark brown hair reaching a little past her shoulders, scowling.

"I told you I'm paying the rent tomo-" The woman cut herself off as she realized who was standing in front of her. Carley gave her a small, shy smile.

"Hey Lilly."

"Carley?"

"Yea, it's me. I'm back."

An awkward pause, random tight wound hugs and some tea and quick cleaning around the small one bedroom apartment later, Carley and Lilly were seated at the small dining table in the kitchen with their mugs of tea in front of them. Carley was greatly surprised at how welcoming Lilly was after seeing her pop in after being gone for so long. But soon, as she had expected, Lilly began to question her on her whereabouts for the last two years.

"Everyone thought you just dropped off the face of the Earth." Lilly commented before taking another sip of her tea. "What happened?"

"Well, you know how I told you I needed to get away for a while? That's exactly what I did." Carley replied, hoping to skate around Lilly's temper.

"By getting away I thought you meant a vacation, not packing up all your things and going away for two years! Plus you told no one where you were going and didn't keep in touch with anyone! No one knew where you were, what you were doing, if you were okay! Nothing!" Lilly's voice grew louder as she continued. Carley sat there and listened, looking into her mug of tea. She's dealt with Lilly's temper before and knew that the best way to get through it was to wait for her to calm down and not say anything. She also felt that her anger was justified.

"I know Lilly. I feel bad for not telling anyone anything and to be honest I wish I did and I wish I could explain things to you but I can't. I just needed to disappear for a while and I wasn't even planning on coming back so soon. I really can't tell much more than that." Lilly looked at her skeptically but noticed a flash of anger and maybe sadness when she talked and decided to leave it at that. She knew Carley would tell her when she was ready.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. But if you weren't planning on coming back then why did you?"

"I heard about Lee."

"Oh yea, I did too. I wasn't sure if it was the Lee you always used to talk about though. He's the reason you came back? Why should you care? He's a murderer."

"He was acquitted, they ruled self-defense. He was such a great friend and he was always there for me, I feel bad for at least not checking up on him after everything that happened."

Lilly sighed and shook her head. "Whatever, I can never understand you anyway Carley. I'm just glad to have my best friend back. Things weren't the same without you."

Carley smiled brightly. "Thanks. To be honest, I'm glad to be back."

"I just have one condition for you since you're staying the night."

"Sure, what is it?"

"You have to buy breakfast in the morning."

"What? You think I can't cook?"

"I **know **you can't cook."

"And neither can you!"

"And that's why **you're** buying it."

Carley laughed. "Whatever."

**A/N I'm going to try and put as many of the characters as I can in this story so look out for them! Again, remember to review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter** **2**

Lee shot up from his sleep, panting and sweating heavily. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust and once they did, he was able to get a clear view of his surroundings. His breathing slowed as he tried to calm down, no longer in the world of his dreams. He stretched his arm out, felt around for the lamp on the side table and turned it on once he was able to get a good grip on the switch. Fully calmed down, he swung his legs off the couch into a sitting position and looked at the time on his alarm clock.

"Damn, only 4am." He groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck. He pulled the blanket off of his lap, stood up and searched for the clothes he threw on the ground the night before.

_"Might as well do something productive before I get tired again."_ He thought bitterly as he gathered his clothes and walked upstairs to the bathroom. He dropped the clothes in the hamper by the door, stripped his boxers off and threw the in the hamper as well and stepped into the shower. As he tuned on the water and began washing himself, memories that he wished could be destroyed began to flood into the forefront of his mind. There were times when he could still picture everything in his head perfectly. He could feel the playful kisses on his neck as a head rested against his chest, smell the scent of vanilla from soft dark black hair and hear the light airy laugh that used to bring him so much joy. He tried his best to ignore the memories. They always came after the nightmares and focusing on them always led to more pain. The fact that he had to deal with them in the first place always caused his chest to tighten up and his heart to ache. Frustrated, he quickly rinsed and left the shower. He dried himself off before walking into his bedroom, finding his clothes for the day and heading downstairs to find something to occupy his mind.

_Beep_

Lee jumped slightly and looked around frantically for the source of the sudden noise. He quickly calmed down once he saw that it was that the answering machine on the side table was blinking. He walked over and pushed the button next to the blinking light and listened.

_"Hi Lee, its mom. Your father and I were wondering if you were still bringing Clementine around this morning to stay for the weekend. I know it's pretty early for a phone call but I wanted to just make sure you were. Even if you don't want to do the job hunt this weekend we don't mind having Clementine over. Call me when you get this message. Love you."_

"Shit, I forgot about that." Lee cursed to himself as he ran around the house and began to prepare for the drive from Savannah all the way up to Macon.

* * *

"Carley! Carley, wake up!"

Carley thrashed around in her sleep as Lilly held onto her screaming her name. Soon, her eyes shot open and looked around wildly. Lilly relaxed and let go of her, leaning back to sit on the couch. Carley sat up, curling her legs up under the covers to give Lilly room and looking at her sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"Another nightmare? That's the fourth time. Just a 'nightmare' made you scream that loud?"

"Yea, it did." Carley's tone left no room for more questioning and Lilly relented.

"Whatever. Just remember, it's **my** couch you're crashing on." Carley knew that Lilly wouldn't make good on her threat though, especially since she's so worried about her.

Lilly stood up to walk back to the room but then turned sideways to face Carley. "Don't forget, you're buying breakfast again this morning."

"Yea, yea, I know." Carley groaned, flopping back on the couch.

Two hours, a cold splash of water and one cranky and short haired brunette later, Carley and Lilly were once again seated at the small kitchen table with two packages of take-out breakfast from the diner down the block. As Carley began to slowly devour her waffles and Lilly her pancakes, an awkward silence fell over the pair. Lilly suddenly stopped eating a few minutes later, setting her fork and knife down and staring at the girl in front of her, her face hard as stone.

"Look, we need to talk." She said slowly, making Carley quickly swallow her food and set her utensils down as well.

"Is it about last night?"

"Yes and the night before that and even the night before that. You've been here for almost a week Carley, and last night you had **another** nightmare. I know I said I'd let it go but I'm worried about you and if my hunch about why you left is true then I'm sorry but I can't just leave it alone."

There was a long pause before Carley answered. "So, what's your hunch?"

Lilly took a deep breath before talking. "Last night and the nights before when you were having those nightmares, you were screaming out a name. At first I let it go but it's the only name you call out and it's every time you have a nightmare. It was the name Michael, your ex." Carley paled upon hearing his name and Lilly noticed.

"Did he do something to you?! Is that why you left?! What did he do?!" Lilly was almost breathing fire and her eyes were a mix of rage, sadness and concern.

"Calm down Lilly. He didn't hurt me or anything like that." Lilly calmed her rage and noticed the distant sad expression that Carley held.

"Define 'hurt you'. What did he do?" Carley looked down into her mug of coffee as Lilly moved her chair closer.

"Fine, I'll tell you."

* * *

"Grandma Mari, Grandpa Ray, Uncle Bryan!" Clementine yelled out as she ran into the pharmacy.

"Clementine! How's my favorite girl doing?" Ray greeted the young girl as he walked out from the office, cane in hand. Clementine ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist as he patted her head.

"Did I just hear Clem come in?" Bryan said as he walked out from behind the pharmacy. Clementine bolted from Ray over to Bryan and he easily swung her up into the air and into his arm.

"Whoa, now! Have you gotten taller since I last saw you?"

"Maybe." Clementine shrugged. Bryan laughed. He had forgotten how Clementine never really understood it when someone was joking with her.

"Hey son." Ray addressed Lee as he was walking through the door. "How ya doin?"

"Good dad. How's everyone here?"

"We're good. You guys made it down here just in time." Marianne interrupted as she walked over to Clementine who was still in her uncle's arms. "I made cookies, Clem. Would you like to help the boys eat them?"

Clementine's face lit up as she furiously shook her head. Bryan let her down and she ran over to hug her grandmother and hold her hand.

"Did you have any trouble on your trip up here?"

"Not at all mom. The trip up here was surprisingly quiet for the morning." Lee laughed. "Just make sure you don't spoil her too much."

"How can we not? She's so precious!" Ray chimed in. Lee shook his head as he handed Bryan Clem's overnight bag.

"Thanks again guys. Call me if anything happens."

"It's never any trouble Lee. Good luck with the job hunt." Marianne said as she went to kiss her son on the cheek.

"Thanks. Be good for Grandma and Grandpa Clem." Lee said as he gave his daughter a goodbye hug.

"Bye daddy."

* * *

"I'm going to kill him." Lilly growled.

"Lilly..."

"No! I'm. Going. To. Kill. Him. I will hunt this son of a bitch down and make him suffer!" Lilly said, pacing the living room floor with a look of complete and utter rage and hate covering her face. Carley was sitting on the couch, her leaning forward with her head looking down and her hands on the sides of her head. As Carley had begun to explain her reasons behind leaving two years ago, their conversation had traveled from the kitchen and into the living room once Carley had to jump on Lilly to stop her from calling the police.

"Lilly, calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down when I know what that bastard did?! He drove you away to Atlanta out of fear! And no one knew and oh god-"

"That's the other reason why I'm back in Savannah. I realized I couldn't stay away just because of someone like him. If he's still around, then I will face him and I won't let him keep me away from the people I care about." Lilly looked at Carley and saw the determined and angry look in her eyes, how she felt the same rage towards Michael that Lilly was feeling.

Lilly sighed. "I trust you Carley, and I'm glad you told me. But can you please promise me something?" Lilly said softly as she kneeled down in front of Carley.

"What?"

"Promise me that if you see him, you call me. This guy is a monster and I don't want you trying to deal with him by yourself anymore. You shouldn't have to. Plus I want to cut his balls off myself."

Carley laughed. "I promise."

"Good. Now, its past noon and I have work in an hour." Lilly said while standing back up.

"I'm sorry Lilly; I've been holding you up."

"No you haven't stupid, I asked you to tell me anyway. Just come on and help me clean up from breakfast."

As the girls began to clean up the cold breakfast that had been left at the table, Lilly decided to turn their conversation towards something lighter, for Carley and so she can calm her raging fury towards Michael.

"So what are you going to do today?"

"Well after a week of job and apartment searching, I found both. I'm going to talk to Steve tomorrow and see if I can't get a job back at my old News Station again. Today I'm going to take a look at an apartment I found down at Turtle Creek."

"You know you can stay here as long as you like Carley." Lilly replied as she scraped the remainder of her food in the garbage.

"I know, but as lovely as your couch is, I need to find a place. Plus I still have a shitload of stuff in storage that needs to get put somewhere. I was also thinking of visiting Molly. Do she and her sis still live at the same place?"

"Yea, she and Hannah still live just a few blocks from here. I thought you would have called her by now."

"I never got around to it. I was going to visit both her and Lee today so I thought that maybe I shouldn't try to call ahead of time."

"You're going to visit Lee?"

There was a pause. "Yea. I've been putting it off along with Molly, so I just need to do it today. I guess I'm kind of worried about their reactions like I was with you."

Lilly patted her on the back. "Don't worry. Molly has been missing you more than I have. I've got to go get ready now." Lilly said as she left the kitchen.

"Lilly."

"Yea?"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Lee stared off into space as he mindlessly flipped through the channels for the third time. It had only taken around two and a half hours for him to get back from Macon where he left Clementine for the next two days. This small vacation from his daughter was another way his family and friends tried to help him get back on his feet, but it seemed like every time they tried, Lee just couldn't do much with the time given to him.

Every time he tried to find a job, he would search until he found something that seemed right, only to think of his past as if it was a shadow looming over him. He thought of how the potential employer would probably do a background check, only to find him to be a murderer, a monster. The anxiety would turn out to be too much for him and he would just give up finding a job altogether. As much as he knew he needed the money and hated the seemingly endless cycle that happened every time he tried, the end result would be the same. Sometimes he wishes that he could just give up.

The doorbell sounds and Lee stands up and walks over to answer the door. As he opens it, his eyes widen in shock at the sight in front of him.

"Carley."

"Hey Lee."

**A/N Thank you to everyone for the awesome reviews! I try to update once a week on Thursday, Friday or Saturday so look forward to it. Next up: Lee and Carley catch up again!**

**An added note: This takes place in Savannah, so everyone except Lee's family (who lives in Macon) and Ben (who lives in Stone Mountain) lives here. Carley ran away to Atlanta and Lilly works at The Hunter Army Airfield, not The Robins Air Force Base. Just in case anyone was confused!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They stood there, staring at each other, taking in how the other person had changed since they'd last seen them. To Lee, Carley seemed so different since he last saw her five years ago. She was still as small as he remembered, her hair just as short and her eyes just as green, but there was something different about the way she carried herself. She was no longer the friendly yet teasing best friend from high school nor was she the mature mother figure that dragged him and Kenny home after a drunken night out. She wasn't the person who, along with his mother, took his ex-wife dress shopping for their wedding, she wasn't the same girl who had the third dance with him at his wedding, the first two being his wife and his mother, nor was she the girl who bought almost a roomful of baby supplies for them when Clementine was born. She was like a stranger to him, her stance nervous, scared, and maybe even a little bit defensive.

To Carley, Lee seemed to be an entirely different person as well. He still looked healthy, but there was a maturity in him that she hadn't seen before. He seemed more serious now, but given the current situation and recent events that's to be expected but there was also a hint of sadness and anger that she had never seen in his eyes before, and the thought that it was directed at her made her even more nervous than she already was. Her breathing got slightly harder and for a few moments she thought about running away but she stood her ground, determined to see this through.

It was Carley who broke the awkward silence first. "Uh, can I come in?"

"Oh, uh, yea come on in." He replies, moving aside and opening the door farther so she can step in. Carley walked in and looked around the room as Lee took her jacket to hang it up. It was a medium sized living room with a small amount of furniture, just a couch and matching chair, a side table by the door and next to the couch, and a television with a lamp in the corner next to it. On top of the television were a few small pictures of a few people that Carley had recognized. She sat down on the couch and when Lee joined her their silent awkward game continued.

"Uh, so, how have you been?" Lee finally got the courage to ask.

"I've been okay. You?"

"Okay. So what have you been doing for the last 5 years? Gosh, it's been so long." Lee's eyes glazed over and he leaned his head back slightly, thinking of old times.

"I've been around, still working in journalism. I've actually been living here in Savannah the whole time. What about you? I heard that you were teaching history at UGA."

"Yea, we moved from Macon to Athens a little after I lost touch with you. A lot of, things happened though and we decided to move here." Carley noticed the sadness and anger in him intensify as he talked and she mentally chided herself.

_"Dammit, I didn't want him to get upset. Just change the subject, act like you don't know what happened and try again later."_

"I thought you would stay in Macon forever." She joked. "Oh! Is this Clementine? She's gotten so big." Carley said as she walked over to the pictures that were sitting on top of the TV. In one of the pictures was what looked like a seven or eight year old Clementine in a yellow sundress being held by her mother Sarah. Lee had tried time and again to get rid of that picture only to stare at it for hours and end up in a worse mood than when he started. If anything, he kept it only to remember his daughter and his life during a much happier time.

"Yea well, it has been awhile. I think she was only two the last time you've seen her." Lee chuckled, walking to stand next to her.

"Where is she anyway?"

"In Macon with my parents. She's spending the weekend with them."

"Oh, tell them I said hi the next time you see them. How is everything up there? Is the pharmacy still running?" Carley asked as she went to go sit back down.

Lee followed and sat back down before answering her. "Yea, they still run it. Bryan's actually working their when he's not in class now too."

"Really? What school does he go to?"

"He's getting a BA in nursing at Macon State."

"That's great." It was then that Carley suddenly started giggling.

Lee gave her a confused look. "What is it?"

"I sorry, I was just thinking back to when we were in high school and had to tutor those kindergarten kids. You got so scared every time one of them cried and I had to console them for you. It's strange to think you're a dad now." She said through her laughter.

"Hey! What about you? You got so frustrated whenever they got to rowdy and I had to calm them down for you. I thought you were about to pull your hair out."

Carley sighed after finishing her laughing fit. "I guess Kenny was the better tutor. His kids never gave him trouble."

"That's because he never actually taught them anything. He just let them do whatever they wanted."

"You're dad thought I was the better teacher though." Carley teased, lightly poking him in the arm.

"Doesn't make him right." Lee retorted which made Carley start laughing again.

* * *

They continued like this for hours, reminiscing about the past and the stupid things they did with Kenny throughout high school and even a little into college. The defensive and guarded stranger that Lee saw earlier seemed to have disappeared and Lee could finally see the old Carley that he knew so well. She was relaxed, playful and she even had the light in her eyes that made him smile whenever he looked into them. He knew then that she was only acting the way she was earlier out of nervousness.

"Thanks." Carley said as Lee handed her a mug of hot coffee.

"Heh, still addicted to caffeine I see."

"Shut up." Carley replied playfully and took a sip.

"To be honest, I really missed you." Carley froze, almost choking on her coffee. She lowered her cup and looked at him, trying to think of what to say and giving him a small smile.

"I missed you guys too. I haven't even talked to Kenny and Katjaa yet and I don't think I'd even recognize Duck."

"Maybe next time they can stop by."

"Well, I still live here so I can come by anytime."

"That's great. It's nice to have you around." Lee was fully smiling at her now, but Carley's mind was beginning to race as she prepared for what she was about to say.

_"Okay Carley, just lead into it, act like you don't know. Let him tell you."_ She thought as she looked down into her drink.

"So, how's Sarah? What happened with her?" She finally asked, trying to play dumb. She looked up at Lee and that his smile had been replaced with a hard look. She wished she had never opened her dumb mouth.

Lee sighed. "You can quit the act Carley, I know you heard what I did." He growled, his voice filled with anger.

_"Shit, I'm so stupid. I didn't want to hurt him!"_ She sighed in defeat.

"Yea, you're right. But I just couldn't believe it. I didn't think it was true and that's not the reason I came over here." She said, growing tense as she noticed the anger and sadness come back into Lee's eyes again.

"Then why did you come over?"

Carley took a deep breath. "I wanted to make sure you're okay. You were always there for me and I missed everyone and I just wanted to help you in any way I could. And I really did want to see you again." Lee's eyes softened as she talked, taking to heart how much Carley actually cared.

Lee leaned his head back against the couch closed his eyes. "What happened Carley?"

"What do you mean?"

"What happened with us? Why did you stop talking to me and Kenny? Why did we drift apart?"

Carley stared down at the couch, unable to answer him. "I really don't know."

They sat there in silence, the awkwardness and tension from before filled the room again. Lee didn't want that though. He liked having Carley back and he didn't want to push her away again. It was nice having a piece of his past that didn't cause him pain. So he broke the silence.

"It was an accident, I didn't mean to kill him."

"What?" Carley turned her head back up in shock. She didn't expect him to say anything at all to her.

"I got sick one day on my way to class. Cancelled it and went home. Found them in bed together. I was so angry, I saw red. I started screaming at her, yelling anything that came into my head. Then the guy tackled me. I don't know how long we fought, how many times I hit him or how many times he hit me, I just remember that at some point someone had taken out a gun. I kept it hidden in the house in case anything bad happened. To be honest I don't even remember how the gun got in either of our hands, just that he got it first, I wrestled for it and before I even knew what happened, I had killed him. His name was Sam." Lee wasn't even facing Carley now, his eyes were straight forward, in a trance. Carley stared at him, shocked and saddened by what he was telling her.

"I was so mad and I can't imagine how much pain she felt. I can't believe I actually killed someone. I took a life, I took someone's life away from them. I didn't have to either. I keep asking myself what I could've done better, why I had to shoot him. The more I think about it, the more I keep thinking I'm a monster. Even though I was defending myself, even if everyone sees it that way, I still killed someone. I'm still a monster." There was silence after he finished. Carley didn't want to say a word, afraid to disrupt him.

"No you're not. You're not a monster Lee." She finally said. Lee opened his eyes and looked at her. She looked close to tears, her eyes almost matching the same sadness in his.

"You're not a monster Lee. You defended yourself, you had the right to defend yourself. It's a basic human instinct. There was nothing you could've done better in a situation like that. You did what you felt you needed to in order to stay alive. There is nothing you can change about that. It wasn't your fault, it wasn't..." She was crying now, unable to finish her sentence.

This time it was Lee who was in shock. He didn't know why she was crying, why what he said had affected her so much. He scooted over to set her cup down for her and rub her back as she let her tears out. When she was able to stop crying, Lee gave her a tissue to wipe away her tears.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying." Carley choked out embarrassed.

"I should be the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." Lee said, still rubbing her back.

"No, it wasn't you. I just, I, well, it wasn't you okay? I just, get like that." The tension seemed to have left the room after the little outburst and both Carley and Lee felt relieved at being able to get what they wanted off of their chests. Lee stood first holding his hand out for Carley to take it.

"It's gotten really late. It's already 9pm." Lee pointed out, looking at the clock.

"You're right, it has. I should get going." As Lee walked her to the door and got her coat for her, a feeling of longing overcame Carley. It was almost as if she didn't want to leave.

"Thanks for today Carley. I realized how much I missed having you around." Lee said smiling as he handed Carley her jacket. Carley took it, smiling back at him to show that she was okay after her small crying session.

"I missed you too. I really am glad to be back." She replied as she put on her jacket. Once she had her jacket fully on, Lee pulled her into a hug. She returned it, feeling a warmth she never felt before.

"Are you busy tomorrow?"

"No why?"

"I was wondering if you would like to come over again. This time Kenny will probably be over so you could see him too." For some reason, Lee's offer made Carley smile widely on the inside but she appeared calm on the outside.

"I'd like that."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you." Lee watched Carley leave and didn't close his door until she had driven off in her rental car. As she drove, she reviewed everything that had happened in the last 6 hours. Smiling, she continued her trip home.

_"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."_

**A/N Thanks again for the reviews! I hope all the information in this chapter wasn't too confusing!**


	4. Chapter 4

**BONUS CHAPTER! I just really had this floating in my head and I wanted to get it down as soon as possible so you get an extra chapter this week!**

**A/N Just in case anyone was confused, Lee DID kill Sam, who is not a State Senator in this AU. He was brought to trial but the jury found him not guilty because he did it in self-defense, which is not seen as a crime. So he was acquitted but there is more to the story than that (of course I'm not telling though). There is also a reason why Carley broke down after listening to Lee, but that comes later. Thank you again for the wonderful reviews!**

**Chapter 4**

Over the next month, things improved in Carley's life to the point where she wondered if there was someone helping her out behind the scenes. She was able to move out into the apartment at Turtle Creek and get most of her stuff out of storage and into her new place without any trouble. She met with Molly and the girl welcomed her back with a sarcastic "about time you came running back" and a punch on the shoulder. Carley laughed through her pain, knowing that even though Molly seemed pretty nonchalant about her return, she could tell that what Lilly said was true and that Molly was ecstatic to have her back. They spent time together with Lilly talking, learning what's new in each other's lives. Carley learned about Molly's sister Hannah's relationship with her long distance "totally not a boyfriend" friend Ben Paul from Stone Mountain and how she met him at summer camp. She was grateful that Lilly didn't mention to Molly her nightmares or why she left as she wasn't ready to tell her yet, not feeling up to having both Lilly and Molly on a blood hunt for Michael.

Carley also had the chance to see Kenny, Katjaa and Duck again when she returned to Lee's house. As she had expected, Duck was no longer a three year old toddler and she barely recognized him from the last time she held him. She, Kenny and Katjaa had also been able to repair the friendship they lost, and she had to admit as annoying Kenny was to her when they were younger, she really missed his stupid antics and thick southern accent and she missed the calm comforting aura that she always felt around Katjaa.

Her relationship with Lee was probably what she was most grateful for. After that first awkward yet eye opening and emotional meeting, her and Lee swiftly moved back into their old friendship the next time she came over. They laughed and joked along with Kenny, almost like they were in high school again. Throughout the week Lee would invite her over multiple times, and they would just continue to talk. It was around the third time he invited her over when she asked if he had a job anywhere.

He answered her with just a simple no, but by the look on his face she knew to leave the question alone. She could tell he's still hurting by what happened and she wished she could try to do something for him, but as Kenny said to her one day "You seem to be doing a lot for him by being around. Ever since you came around he's been much happier". For some reason, knowing that she was helping him in some way made her feel better.

She now pulled her rental car into the only spot left she could find on the curb and got out, grabbing her bag and preparing herself for the day ahead. It was her first day of work, and to be honest, she was more nervous than she thought she would be. With the help of her old boss, she was able to get her old job back at WTKS. She was eager to see her old friends and apparently finding her a spot as a reporter wasn't that hard. It turned out that they weren't able to find someone to replace her anyway, so Steve, her supervisor, was happy to welcome her back as he missed her special style of hard-hitting journalism.

As she entered the building she already came across a familiar face, rushing past her with wires wrapped around his arms. "Hey Doug!"

"Carley! Good to see you!" Doug stopped in his tracks and went to greet his old friend. She would have hugged him but she was afraid of getting tangled in all of the wires he held. "How have you been? Are you working here again?"

"Yea. Actually this is my first day back. Do you know where Steve is?"

"Oh yea, he's just down the hall in his office. Welcome back Car."

"Thanks. Are you still the Maintenance Engineer? I didn't know you bought in the wiring chords."

"Nope, I'm _Chief_ Engineer now." Doug said proudly, moving some of the wires aside to show off his name tag.

"That's great! Congrats Doug!"

"Thanks. Speaking of what's new, did you meet the new editor?"

"No, I haven't. John left?"

"Yea, He moved up north to Boston a few months ago." Doug said, shaking his head sadly. "Well, I've got to go. We'll catch up some more later okay?"

"Sure. Nice talking to you, see you around."

"See ya." And with that, Doug continued down the hall on the right while Carley walked straight forward down to the door at the end of the hall. On the door, the words _Steve Wade, News Director_ were etched in black over the glass window. Carley looked through the window and could see two figures talking on the other side. As she knocked, she saw one of them pause the conversation and walk over to open the door.

"Hey Carley, come on in." Steve smiled as he opened the door wider for her to enter. She returned the smile but as she walked in her eyes focused on the woman standing in the middle of the room by the desk.

"Before you start I wanted to introduce you to our new editor, Danielle." He said, waving his arm towards the woman. She wore a simple white blouse and blue skirt with a matching blazer and her black hair, a contrast to her fair skin, was pulled back into a low ponytail. She stared at Carley for a moment, her penetrating gaze making Carley feel increasingly uncomfortable, until she finally smiled and held her hand out.

"Pleased to meet you Carley. I'll be your editor from now on. I look forward to working with you." Her voice was pleasant but almost robotic, like there were no real emotions behind her words.

Carley grabbed her held out hand and shook, smiling back at her. "I'm Carley. I look forward to working with you too." She said with a hint of forced happiness in her voice.

_"Well by the looks of it, this is gonna be a long day." _She thought only half-jokingly.

* * *

For the next two weeks, Carley and Danielle got into some form of mutual rhythm at work, where they got as much work done as possible while having the least amount of contact with each other. After their initial meeting, tour of the grounds with Steve, meeting with the rest of the news team (some of whom Carley already knew) and their subsequent first assignment, Carley and Danielle have been at odds with each other about almost everything. From what they should cover, to how they should format the script for the radio anchor, to what people they should schedule to interview, both girls seem to be on the opposite end of each spectrum when it came to their opinions about what would be the most affective and it seemed like the only thing they **could** agree on was that they needed to stay away from each other. By the end of the second week, Carley was incredibly stressed and tired.

"I don't know what's with her! It's like she has to argue with me on everything! We can't even agree on where a stupid little comma should go, and since she's the _editor_, she has the final say on everything!" Carley groaned, leaning back on Lee's couch and rubbing her forehead while Lee sat next to her, stifling his laughter. He had forgotten about her habit of ranting whenever she was frustrated. For the most part, Lee had found it amusing when she started yelling into the air, uncaring of who was around, unless of course, her anger was directed at him.

"You know, you're just as stubborn as her."

Carley lifted her head up at glared at Lee. "Excuse me? **I** at least try to listen to others opinions, while she just goes with whatever **she** thinks is best. Do you know how many times I had to rewrite the first sentence of the report?!"

Lee lifted his arms up in surrender, surprised at her outburst. "I was just saying that it seems like you both have more in common than you think."

"Whatever." She turned away from him, pouted and crossed her arms as there was a knock on the door. Lee went to answer it and was greeted by Clementine with a hug to the waist.

"Hey sweet pea. Did you have fun with Kenny and Duck?"

"Yea, but I wanted to come home." She answered as she let go of him and walked through the door. Lee waved to Kenny from across the street and then closed the door behind her.

"That's just fine. There's actually someone I want you to meet." Lee walked over to Carley who stood when she noticed Clementine in the room. "Clem, this is Carley, an old friend of mine."

Carley, her anger suddenly gone, walked over and bent down to be face to face with the little girl. "Hello Clementine. I haven't seen you in such a long time."

"You know me?"

"Yes. I knew you when you were a baby, so you probably don't remember me much. You've grown to be so pretty." Clementine gave her a shy smile, slightly blushing at the compliment.

"Well, I better get going. I need to go find food and get to work on my next story, god knows it's going to take all weekend." Carley said as she stood back up and turned towards Lee.

"You know you can have dinner with us if you'd like Car."

"Thanks, but I already spend too much time around here anyway." She joked as she gathered her bag and jacket. "I'll just go to my usual spot or maybe try to actually cook this time."

"Okay then. Take care Carley."

"See ya."

* * *

Carley opened the door to her apartment, dragged herself through the door, and turned on the lights. She dropped her bag on the table and stretched her body out on the small couch, yawning. After another dinner at her favorite diner, she felt too tired to even move from her place on the couch. While still on the couch, she reached in her pocket for her cellphone and dialed Lilly's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lilly, it's me. I'm just calling to say that I'm still coming with Molly tomorrow."

"Okay. You still want to go to that new bar around the corner from Crawford Square?"

"Yea, let's check that one out."

"By the way, when are you going to introduce me to your old friends?" Carley rolled her eyes. This was the fourth time Lilly had asked.

"Anytime you'd like Lilly, just let me know when."

"**Soon.**"

Carley sighed. "Fine then, soon. I'm going to bed. Have a goodnight Lilly."

"Goodnight." Carley hung up her phone, turned off the nearby light, slipped her shoes off and walked to her bedroom. She fell on the bed, grabbed the closest pillow, laid her head on it and drifted off to sleep, too tired to change her clothes.

She never saw the figure moving through her window outside.

* * *

"Dad, what's this?" Clementine said as she lifted up a giant folder to show to her father.

Lee took it and opened it, flipping through the contents inside. "I think it's Carley's, looks like a list of news sources. Where did you find this?"

"It was on the couch." The little girl responded, pointing to the spot where she found it.

Lee picked up the phone and tried dialing Carley's number, but received no answer. He hung up the phone and looked down at the folder again in thought.

_"She was so stressed today and these papers are really important too. Turtle Creek is only 20 minutes away and I'd hate for her to be even more stressed."_

Lee grabbed his car keys off the coffee table. "Clementine, go get your shoes on, we're going out for a minute."

* * *

Carley awoke to incredible heat surrounding her and a thick smell of smoke in the air. Her senses went on alert quickly and she jumped up, only to start coughing as soon as she tried to breathe. She could barely see as the room was filled with a thick gray smoke and she was forced to look down as her eye burned from the heat. Quickly she found her way to her bedroom door, her lungs trying to take in any air they could. She opened the door only to come to the sight of her house filled with flames. Her lungs burned for air, but all she could breathe in was the smoke.

_"Oh god, I need to get out!" _She tried her best to keep calm, but she began to panic and fear for her life. She couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, and she was surrounded by flames. Using her hands and feet to feel around, she tried her best to find the kitchen counter, but cursed herself as she began to feel lightheaded.

_"Stay up Carley, you can't pass out. Keep it together!"_ She willed herself to keep going, but as she reached the middle of the kitchen, her body gave out and she collapsed onto the floor, hitting her head against the counter.

All she could see was a figure looming over her before everything went black.

**A/N I'm still posting a new chapter on Friday/Saturday so you'll still have another new chapter this week. Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I had things to do with my family this weekend so it got postponed until today but I'm back on track. Sorry for the delay, especially after the last chapter!**

**Chapter 5**

_"Do it."_

_"No! I, I can't! Please don't make me do this!"_

_"I said do it!"_

_"No!"_

_"Fucking do it!"_

_BANG_

Carley's eyes opened slowly and she tried to get a look at her surroundings, but her eyes were watery and her vision was blurry. She couldn't make out any details of the unfamiliar location, but could tell that she was in a blue and white room with what looked like a window on the left wall. Her head and chest were painfully throbbing, parts of her arms and legs felt sore, there was some kind of tube in her nose and her throat was dry and scratchy. As she tried to look around more without moving her head, she realized that she was laying in what felt like a bed, her legs covered with a soft cotton blanket, and she could hear a faint rhythmic beeping coming from somewhere beside her.

"You're awake." She heard someone sigh in relief. She tried to sit up but a strong hand gently pushed her back down.

"Don't get up. You're still injured." The deep voice sounded familiar and as she turned her head slightly, she saw the outline of his face, his dark skin, and the muscular frame standing over her.

"Lee?" She tried her best to call out, but her voice was raspy and barely audible.

"Yea, it's me Car."

She blinked furiously, trying to get the fluid out of her eyes. Lee understood what she was trying to do and grabbed the small cloth from the side table, bringing it up to her face.

"Hold still." He said gently as he began to dab her eyes and wipe away the gunk and fluid. When he pulled away, Carley blinked a few more times as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room.

"Thank you." She wheezed out, turning to look back at him. Able to see clearly again, she noticed that his right arm and both of his hands were bandaged and his clothes were covered with black smudges.

"Where am I, what happened?"

"You're in the hospital, there was a fire. To be honest, I should be asking you what happened."

Carley slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position with Lee's help, groaning as she felt moved her sore muscles. "Me? Why me?"

"Because it was your apartment on fire." Lee replied as he pushed his chair closer to Carley's bed and sat down. He grabbed a small glass of water off of the side table and handed it to her. "Here, you're probably thirsty."

Carley thanked him and quickly swallowed the whole glass. Her throat no longer dry, she coughed once before speaking again. "I can't remember any fire. I was sleeping in my bed, I think I remember waking up but other than that, nothing. Was anyone hurt? What happened to your arm?"

"No one else was hurt, they were able to contain the fire before it reached anyone else." Lee looked down at his bandaged arm and hands and then looked back up at her. "You left some news sources at my house and Clem and I came by to return them. I came up to your apartment and I smelled smoke. When I looked through one of the windows, I saw the fire. I told Clem to stay in the car and dialed 911. I was looking through the rest of the windows when I looked through the kitchen window and saw you unconscious. I hurt my arm when I broke the window and climbed in to get you out."

Carley smiled and tears almost came to her eyes. "You saved my life. Thank you. Is Clem okay?"

"You're my friend. I couldn't just let you die. Clem's fine, she's at Kenny's house right now."

"I don't understand it though." Carley said, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "I went straight to bed after I got home. I didn't do anything or leave anything on that could cause a fire."

Lee shrugged. "The police and fire department are still on the scene, they can probably tell what caused it. Maybe it was a faulty wiring that finally caught fire."

Carley absently shook her head, still suspicious. Lee and Carley looked up as an older man, around age 60, entered the room, wearing a white coat with a tan sweater underneath.

"I'm glad to see you've awoken Carley. I'm Dr. Sullivan, but you can call me Vernon. I'll be your attending physician. Do you understand what happened?"

"Mostly, Lee was just telling me."

"You have some cuts and burns on your arms and legs, but what we need to focus on are you lungs and brain. You inhaled a lot of smoke and you stopped breathing at the scene of the fire. Luckily, your friend knew CPR and kept you breathing until the paramedics came which is why you have the bruises on your chest."

Carley smiled at Lee and he shrugged. "Like I said, I couldn't just let you die."

Vernon continued. "You were diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning as well so we had to give you a face mask with an oxygen reserve bag and then change you to the nose tube you have now. The carbon monoxide level in your blood went down and we'll continue to check it periodically until its low enough to send you home. You also have an increase of mucus in your throat and nose due to the smoke. You just need to rest and get as much oxygen in you as you can."

"Thank you Doctor."

"My pleasure. Call for one of the nurses if you need anything, feel weird or dizzy, or if the mucus builds up too much because then it'll need to be suctioned out. I'll be by to check on you later." And with that, Vernon left Carley and Lee alone in silence.

Carley turned back towards Lee. "You still know CPR, after all these years?"

Lee stretched and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, after that one summer as a lifeguard, I decided to keep getting certified every two years, in case I would need it again."

"Well, it came in handy. Thank you Lee, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything Car. I already told you, I care about you and I couldn't just let you die. Plus I had to stay by you since I didn't know anyone else I could call."

"I know but you didn't have to stay with me this whole time. How long have I even been out?"

"Not long, just about twelve hours. It's only 10 in the morning." Lee said as he looked down at his watch.

"You've been here the whole time?"

"Well, not the whole time. I went to call and make sure Clem was okay and I slept a little as well."

"Good. I didn't want to occupy your time completely." Carley leaned back against onto her pillow. "Goodness, what am I going to do? I bet you all my stuff is burned up, I need to get a new everything with barely a paycheck and a little bit of savings and to top it all off I still have to work and figure out what the hell I'm going to do for the things I can't replace. Goodness, I'm back for a month and a half and already-"

"Whoa, calm down Carley, you heard what the doctor said. Heal and get some rest and then you can worry about what you're going to do."

"Thanks, I'm thanking you way to much today. Where's the real Lee and what did you do with him?"

Lee laughed and stood up. "Sorry, this is the real deal. I'm going to go pick up Clementine. Get some rest Carley, I'll come by tomorrow."

"Thank you Lee."

Lee stopped walking towards the door and turned to smile at her. "You don't have to keep thanking me Carley."

"I know I just..." She paused. "I don't know, thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

"I swear to god when I get my hands on him I am gonna ring his neck!"

"Are you sure you're okay Carley?"

"I told you, I'm fine. I just have to rest here for a few days."

"I know it was him, what else could it have been?! Choking is too good for him; he needs to be tortured first!"

This conversation had been going on for over an hour now, and despite Carley's best efforts, she can't stop the constant cycle of Molly asking her if she's okay and Lilly walking around the room shouting threats to the air. She had waited until the evening to call Molly and Lilly to tell them what happened as she didn't want them to leave work for her. As expected, both women came rushing down, happy for the lack of traffic on a Saturday, and have been with her for the last three hours. Carley used the first hour to explain everything that happened and after the initial outrage and worry, they used to second hour to explain Carley's past with Michael to Molly after Lilly had first accused him of having a hand in the fire. Ever since then, Lilly has been cursing Michael's name while Molly, surprisingly, has been at Carley's side, constantly asking her if she's okay. She took the news about Michael well enough, channeling her anger at Michael into concern for Carley.

"You need to tell the police so they can lock this son of a bitch away for good."

"No. I don't even know if he knows that I'm back. Plus, what am I supposed to say to them? How am I supposed to tell them everything without implicating myself?"

"You shouldn't be charged with anything with your story. It wasn't your fault." Molly said as she sat next to Carley, grabbing and squeezing her hand.

Carley sadly looked down before shaking her head. "No. I just need to put all of that behind me. He didn't do it, I talked to the police. They said it looked like a natural cause, no foul play. If he's not after me then I'd rather just forget and move on with my life."

Molly wrapped her arms around Carley and the smaller woman leaned her head against Molly's arm. Lilly stopped her ranting and joined in on the small hug.

"I'm just worried Carley. This guy chased you away from us once; he's not going to do it again." Lilly said gently as she pulled away from the group hug.

"Thanks, you guys are the best friends I could ask for. He could never chase me away again." She said with a small smile while Molly rubbed her back.

"Yea well, if he tries, I'll help Lilly with her torture chamber." Molly joked, shaking her fist.

All three girls laughed.

* * *

Carley shuffled through multiple papers, trying to get herself back in order while still in her hospital bed as Lee sat down next to her. The doctor told her to get rest but for the last two days she's been busy, much to the nurses' chagrin. She never liked lying around just waiting to heal and she had to find a place to stay and arrange for storage to take her things (well, what was left of her things) until her apartment is fixed or she gets a different one. Lee had stopped by again today, bringing along her cell phone that was recovered and some things that Doug and Steve left her.

"Why don't you stay at my house for the time being?" Lee suddenly chimed in. Carley looked up from her papers in shock.

"Stay with you? I don't want to put you out in any way Lee. Its fine, I can find a cheap enough hotel and stay there."

"It's just me and Clem in a three bedroom house. You can have the extra room, it's no trouble. You shouldn't have to find some cheap hotel if a friend can let you stay for free."

Carley chewed her lip in thought. He had already done so much for her, she couldn't ask for this.

"Are you sure you don't mind? I could go somewhere else."

Lee laughed. "It's fine. I really don't mind. It gets lonely with just me and Clem."

Carley sighed and smiled. "Fine, I'll take you up on your offer. I'm saying thanks for what, the fifth time now?"

"Sixth, but who's counting?" Lee said with a smug look.

"Shut up." She joked as she whacked him with her pillow.

**A/N Now that I added Vernon, I think I have included everyone except Chuck and Larry which I don't mind since I hate Larry. Christa and Omid will come in soon so I think I reached my goal! Yay! I have a set schedule so I'm going to update every Saturday from now on unless something with my family happens again. Thank you for the reviews and don't forget to review this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Sorry I was gone for two weeks! I had a math final that just sprung up on me so I had to study for that and then I had a Japanese Oral Final and then everything kind of just spun out of control! I'm back though!**

**Chapter 6**

Carley dropped the medium sized box on the floor of her temporary bedroom and sat down on the bed. After only a week and a half in the hospital, Dr. Vernon had declared that her cuts and burns were mostly healed and her carbon monoxide levels were low enough that she could leave. Her recovery was surprisingly quick, a feat that was chalked up to Carley's eagerness to get back to working. But despite her wishes and fast recovery period, the doctor recommended that she still rest for a few more days. He knew his orders would not be followed though as she had already gone back to lightly working while still in a hospital bed.

As much as Carley wanted to go back to her job and get her mind on things other than fires and ex-boyfriends, she could feel her body screaming for mercy at the end of each day and decided to only work from her temporary room until all of her bandages came off. She had talked it over with Steve and after clearing it with Danielle, who was more than happy to have her away from the station for a while, Carley was given the temporary assignment of writing the news scripts for the anchors to read on-air. While Carley was slightly annoyed that she would be writing scripts and checking facts instead of going out and finding the facts herself, she knew her body's limitations. Well, some of them at least.

"I said I'd carry it." Lee said as he entered Carley's room and set down a second box.

"Come on Lee, I'm not an invalid."

"Well, technically you are."

"Smart ass." Carley joked as she opened one of the boxes and started unpacking. She was greatly surprised at what she was able to salvage from her apartment. Everything from the living room and kitchen were completely ruined but the closet, bathroom and bedroom had a small amount of stuff that didn't get burned by the fire or soggy from the water that put it out.

"Lee, I just want to say thanks again for-"

"Carley, if you thank me one more time, I'll kick you out." Lee cut her off, trying to sound serious and failing miserably.

Carley laughed and stood up. "I'm just really grateful. You've done so much for me lately."

"You've done a lot for me too."

"What do you mean? I haven't done anything."

"Yes, you have. Things have been, I don't know, happier since you've been around. I can't really explain it but, things really have been better. I feel like it's almost like old times again, like a breath of fresh air. I missed you and you being around again has done a lot for me. This is just me returning the favor."

Carley smiled warmly. She didn't understand much of what he meant exactly, but a small part of her had noticed she was happier around him as well. She never thought of it as anything special though, she was just doing what any good friend would have done a long time ago. She didn't realize how much her presence meant to him.

She stood there for a moment, not knowing how to respond to his heartfelt words. A knock sounded at the door, interrupting the somewhat awkward turn their conversation took. Lee excused himself and left Carley with her thoughts to answer it.

"Hey Lee!"

"Hey Christa, Omid. Long time no see! You're back from your trip?"

"Yea, we got back yesterday. We didn't think it'd take a month but this guy wanted to go back to the Smithsonian for another two days." Christa said and gestured towards Omid with her thumb. "We heard you got a new roommate while we were away so we thought we'd drop by."

Lee raised an eyebrow. "How did you-" He paused in realization. "Kenny?"

"Kenny."

He shook his head and laughed. "Glad to have you back. Come on in. Hey Carley!" Lee called out as Christa and Omid followed him inside. "Carley, this is Christa and Omid. They're friends of Kenny and me" He said as she came down the stairs and into view.

"Hey, I'm Omid. Nice to meet you." Omid greeted her with a bright and inviting smile, a direct contrast to Christa's cool, unemotional gaze. Carley avoided looking directly at them.

"So you're the new roommate?"

"Yea, my apartment caught on fire so Lee is letting me stay here until it gets fixed up. He's a life saver." Carley tried her best to not break under Christa's cold stare and remain friendly. After a small moment of silence, Christa turns head back and forth between Lee and Carley smiling.

"I'm sorry to hear about your place but welcome to the neighborhood. At least, for the meantime." She said as she reached out to shake Carley's hand.

"Thanks."

"So, how do you two know each other?" Omid asked once the tension left the room.

"I'm an old friend of his. We grew up and went to high school together."

"Oh, then you must know Kenny as well. He's from Macon too."

"Yea, we were all born there and were quite the trio. Kenny of course, was always leading us into trouble and I always led us out of it."

"Omid laughed. "So what did Lee do?"

"He just went along with everything. He was kind of a pushover; it was really easy to boss him around."

"Hey!"

"What? I'm just telling the truth. Even now, you're still kind of a pushover." Carley teased as she smiled and shrugged.

"Whatever." Lee mumbled, crossing his arms and pouting playfully. Christa and Omid glanced at each other, taking note of the playful exchange in front of them.

"Well, it was nice meeting you both, but I have to go finish unpacking." Carley said as she turned back to the couple.

"Likewise. We'll see you around Carley." Omid replied and shook hands with her before she turned around and went back upstairs to her room.

* * *

After Lee, Christa and Omid sat down in the living room and chatted for few minutes about the couple's trip to every history museums across the US, Omid leaned forward towards Lee and smiled mischievously.

"So, Carley seems nice. When's the wedding?" Omid quipped, looking at Christa who was looking at Lee questioningly.

"Shut up. She's just a friend and seeing how my last marriage turned out, I don't think I'll have another wedding anytime soon." No one responded to the dark joke and after a few seconds they moved on with the conversation.

"Well, we haven't seen you this happy in a long time. Maybe it was good to bring another friend into your life." Christa said as gave him a sad smile and placed her hand gently on Lee's shoulder.

"I think so too. Carley and I were so close, almost like family, and somehow we just drifted apart a few years ago. I'm glad to have her back. It brought back a part of the past that I actually want to remember." Lee looked down as he talked, a warm smile on his face.

"Well I'm glad you got that piece of your life back. It really looks like it had a good effect on you."

"It has." Just then the door knocked and Lee stood up and went to answer it. He looked down and was surprised to see his daughter in front of him, out of breath and panting.

"I saw their car. Are they back?" Clementine managed to get out between breaths.

"You're supposed to be at Kenny's house. Did you cross the street by yourself?" Clementine paid no attention to what her father said as she ran past him through the door as soon as she saw Christa and Omid.

"You're back!" Clem cried as she ran at full speed into them, hopping up to sit on Christa's lap. "I missed you!"

"Hey there Clem! Oh, we missed you too!" Christa said as she pulled Clem into a hug, smiling widely. No one noticed Lee standing in front of them with his arms crossed, glaring.

"I'd hate to interrupt." He said sarcastically. "But did you come from Kenny's house by yourself Clem?"

"I don't know..." Clementine said as she looked at her father like a deer caught in headlights.

"Oh come on Lee, she missed us. She just wanted to see us as soon as she could" Christa said as she still held onto Clementine. It was well known by now that Christa and Omid loved to baby Clem, almost to the point of spoiling her rotten. Seeing as both of them wanted children but couldn't have any, it was only natural that they grew quickly attached to Clem and Duck and babysat them often.

Lee sighed. "Just get Kenny to walk you across next time okay?" No one answered him as Christa and Clem had already gone back to talking with each other.

"Goodness" Lee mumbled and shook his head.

Omid laughed. "You really **are** still a pushover."

* * *

Carley finished typing up the last few lines of the script, proofread it and sent it off to Danielle before she noticed just how late it was. _"Damn. I didn't think it was that late." _She thought as she looked over to see 1:45 etched in red on her alarm clock. She cleared her throat and coughed a little as she noticed just how dry her throat was. _"Gotta stay hydrated."_

She closed her laptop and stretched her arms out before stretching out of her crossed legged position on the bed and standing up. She set her laptop on her side table before creeping out of her room and down the stairs. It was cold for a spring night and she shivered slightly as a burst of air hit her. She didn't have a lot of clothes after the fire and had to make do with a light blue camisole and some gym shorts for sleeping.

As she walked through the living room, what looked like a big lump of covers piled onto the couch caught her eye. She slowly peeked over the back of the couch and noticed a small amount of black hair sticking out from one end. She gently grabbed one side of the blanket and pulled it back.

"Lee?" She whispered as she shook him gently. Lee rolled around and blinked his eyes up to see who was waking him. "What?"

"Lee, why are you on the couch? Did you sleep here the whole night?" Lee rubbed his eyes and sat up as his eyes tried to adjust to the lack of light. Feeling for the side table, he found the small lamp and turned it on.

"Carley? What are you doing?" He said once he was able to see her clearly.

"I came down to get some water and found you here. Is there something wrong with your room?" Carley asked, concerned. She hoped that he didn't move to sleeping on the couch just to accommodate her.

"No, nothing's wrong with it. I just..." He paused, trying to think of a good excuse. "I just like sleeping down here."

Carley looked at him questioningly and put a hand on his shoulder. "You sure? That seems pretty uncomfortable."

"Yea, it's fine Carley."

"Do you want my room? I can sleep on the couch if it makes-"

"I said its **fine** Carley." Lee burst out, his voice firm. Carley pulled her hand away from him, startled by his sudden change in demeanor. Lee realized what he had done and calmed down.

"I'm sorry Carley. I didn't mean that. I'll just..." He sighed and looked straight into her eyes. "I'll be fine here."

Carley nodded. "Okay, as long as its fine with you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Lee said as he turned the light off and pulled the covers back over himself. Carley walked towards the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it with water. She took one last look at him on the couch before returning to her room with her glass, her expression troubled.

_"Something's up with him."_

**A/N Just to be clear, by including everyone that I wanted in this story, I meant that the people who I wanted to have actual lines have all been added. Mark and the St. Johns will only get a mention from the other characters because I can't really fit a place in for cannibals and Mark was just really bland. So, starting with this chapter, I have included basically everyone that I wanted to! Thanks for the reviews!**


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